PERU - FELIPE MELO MAYO - CUSCO REGION - WASHED PROCESS

Felipe has been producing coffee for the past 12 years in which he had inherited the land from his parents who he owes his motivation to devote his work to the cultivation of coffee, Born in 1988, Lacca Yavero, Cusco. Felipe cultivates on his farm Typica and Bourbon coffee varietals. This particular washed coffee is grown at 1800masl and during the processing method it had 24 hours wet fermintation and 12 days on raised drying beds under parabolic cover. Felipe is highly focused in progressively raising the quality of his cup and aims to produce a award winning coffee. Upon cupping this coffee the aroma we experienced was a lovely Jasmine flower, with lemongrass and honey which transistioned through to the flavour of apricots, with a medium smooth buttery body and a finish of light orange citrus.

Our Peruvian selections that we cupped and purchased this year once again come from farmers and producers working closely with none other then Red Fox Coffee Merchants. There work, support and dedication to working alongside some of the finest coffee producers in the world who care first and foremost about quality and these producers that are situated off the beaten track that need help establishing a link to the ever growing consuming marketplace. They encourage the farmers to produce the best quality coffee they can by focusing on ripe selective picking of the coffee cherry, a clean and calibrated processing method, proper drying methods as well as coffee storage and support there endeavours by paying higher premiums for higher quality which is a great incentive for producers to continue to strive for better quality and processing methods each and every year

Peru become a part of the coffee scene and established itself in the 1700s which according to researchers was introduced by the Dutch who brought over the Typica varietal which still is the highest grown varietal in peru, especially within longer established farms and microlots. The first plantings of the varietal were in Chinchao, Huanuco in Selva Central and began its move from there to the Northern area of Peru being Cajamarca and to areas of Cusco and Puno which resides in the southern regions of the country. Peru’s first coffee shop was established in 1771 within the area of Lima while exporting of coffee beans started in the year of 1887.

Peru cultivates more then 3.2 billions 60kg bags of coffee every years and is the second highest exporter of fair trade coffee after Mexico. Peruvian coffee has great potential however is extremely rare to find 87+ coffee landed in coffee consuming countries. The potential is there as the country is the 8th largest producer of coffee in the world, it has plenty of coffee farms that sit above 1600 to 1800 meters, and has majority Typica and Bourbon varietals and with all of these excellent growing conditions should produce us 88 – 90+ coffees however this is not the case, high-end coffee out of Peru is very limited due to the many challenges they face. Most farmers only own a couple of limited hectares and are in very remote areas. which to most farmers is 4 hours by foot from the nearest town and the town could be 8 hours by truck from the nearest port. All these factors means the coffee can sit at the farm for long periods of time after it is the drying process and during the drying season the climate conditions tend to be very humid with condensation and without proper storage, such as GrainPro the coffee will gain moisture and create a unstable cup-quality.

Nearly 30% of the country’s small farm holders are now working alongside and owned by local Co-ops, These partnerships help farmers, especially remote rural farmers, market their coffee to a larger coffee consuming marketplace on a global scale, aswell as focusing on quality throughout the whole process and receiving better pay because of this.

Peru Harvest Season resides between July – September with fresh crops arriving to the buyers at the start of the year.